The ’60s: Once Upon an Optimistic Time

“Too many historians who write about the 1960s, the authors contend, have focused on the decade’s very visible rebellions and disruptions — all that sex, all those drugs, all that rock ‘n’ roll. Granted, it’s more fun to read about Abbie Hoffman than about Edmund Muskie, but Mr. Mackenzie [government] and Mr. Weisbrot [history] have a persuasive case to make, and even if much of their story has been told before, their overall argument is a valuable corrective to a lot of hackneyed thinking about the significance of the ’60s.”